Process of bleaching cotton-seed oil.



- In carrying out UNITED" sTA'rEs PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES BASKERVILLE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PROCESS OF BLEACHING COTTON-SEED OIL.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, CHARLns BAsnnnvILLn, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, in the'county of New York and For the purpose ofbleaching cottonseed oil, it is a common practice to treat the oil withan absorbent inorganic decolorizmg agent, such as fullers earth, andthen filter. I have discovered that a mixture of fullers earth andelectrolytes is a more effective bleaching agent than the earth alone.Electrolytes which, for example, have been used and found desirable, arethe chlorids and sulfates of sodium, potassium and iron, calcium.chlorid and aluminum-potassium sulfate, sodium chlorid being preferredfor bromatological and economic reasons. Halid acids may be used but areregarded as less desirable. The action of the electrolytes used in theprocess is based on the fact, also discovered by me, that cottonseedoilcontains a colloidal coloring-matter, similar in many respects to adissolved dyestufi. The electrolyte, dissolved in the small amount ofwater present in the oil and fullers earth, coagulates, agglomerates orpectizes this colloidal coloring-matter, the aggregated particlesbcingof such comparatively large size that they may be easily removed bythe fullers earth, by absorption and entanglement. the present process,based on I preferably agitate the cottonseed oil with a mixture of tenparts by weight of fullers earth and one part by weight of sodiumchlorid, the total amount of the mixture employed being, for example,eleven per cent. by weight of the Oll treated. The treatment ispreferably carried out at a temperature of about 70 (3., being conthisdiscovery,

tinued for a period of, say, one hour, with Specification of LettersPatent.

Application filed January 24, 1913. Serial No. 744,045.

agitation to keep the mixture in suspension. The product is then treatedin the usual manner, except that it is washed suflicieutly to remove anysodium chlorid dissolved in the oil. The product so treated is superiorto that obtained by using fullers earth alone, even in successiveportions which may sum up to twenty per cent. by weight of the oil,being more brilliant and lighter in color. If necessary, however,instead of one treatment, successive treatments with the absorbent, asfullers earth, and the electrolyte, may be employed.

It has been ascertained that, in practice, approximately three per cent.of fullers earth will accomplish on an industrial scale what ten percent. of fullers earth will accomplish on a laboratory scale. I do not,therefore, restrict myself to ten per cent. of fuller-s earth and oneper cent. of sodium chlorid.

I claim:

1. The herein-described process of bleaching vegetable oils containing acolloidal coloring-matter, which consists in treating the oil with aninorganic absorbent having the essential qualities of fullers earth, inpresence of an electrolyte, under conditions to coagulate said colloidalcoloring-matter.

2. The herein-described process of bleaching vegetable oils containing acolloidal coloringunatter, which consists in agitating the oil at atemperature below 100 C. with an inorganic absorbent having theessential qualities of fullers earth, in presence of an electrolyte,under conditions to coagulate said colloidal coloring-matter.

In testimony .whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES BASKERVILLE.

\Vitnesses IV. A. HAMOR,

THOMAS F. OKnnrrn.

Patented Aug. 4,1914.

